


You've Got No Excuses

by FoxyDangerfluff (Argent_Vulpine)



Category: Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons (Video Game)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, Ice Dragon, Kitsune, Otome - Freeform, Urban Fantasy, Visual Novel, one-shot?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 03:31:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10069226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Argent_Vulpine/pseuds/FoxyDangerfluff
Summary: Just a little drabble/possible one-shot of Tatsu and my OC (Sylvia Fox), because my head-canon has MC Tsubasa getting together with Takumi.





	

“Yukimura.”

Tatsuya jumped slightly, looking up from his book, only to see Sylvia Fox standing in front of him. She was leaning slightly over his desk, her low-cut top showing a tantalizing amount of cleavage. His cheeks burned as he averted his gaze. “What do you want, Sylvia?” he asked, his voice coming out gruffer than intended.

She giggled, enjoying his brief discomfort, and moved his books aside so she could perch on the desk, grinning at him. “We’re going to Fox’s Tail for drinks later, and you’re coming with.”

“What? No, I’m not, I’ve got too much work to do!” He frowned up at her, blue eyes narrowing slightly at the mischief he could see in her features.

“You’re not working the shift at Veritas, Chisaki gave the go-ahead already, and you’re done with this week’s homework. You can spare an hour or two.” She shifted her weight, leaning forward again so she could lower her voice to a near whisper. “Will you _please_ spend some time with us, your poor, neglected friends?” A wisp of white hair fell forward, framing her face, and she batted her eyes at him, their green-gold depths sparkling with something he couldn’t quite name.

The ice dragon leaned back in his seat, sighing. Sylvia had made sure he didn’t really have any excuses, so how could he say no, really? “All right, fine. When should I be there?”

The kitsune’s grin broadened even further, and the next thing he knew, she had planted a kiss firmly on his cheek. “I knew I could count on you. Be there around eight!” she said before bouncing off his desk, her black and white hair swaying behind her as she skipped away.

He sat there for a long moment and wondered if his magic could help make his face feel any less heated.

* * *

Sylvia was still practically skipping as she arrived at Fox’s Tail, earning her a raised eyebrow and amused smile from Shinji. _Of course he’d be the first one here_ , she thought, giving him a cheeky grin.

“What’s got you so bouncy, Syl?” he asked as she slid into a seat beside him at the bar.

“I convinced Tatsuya to come out with us tonight.” She nodded her thanks when a icy mug of imported hard apple cider was placed in front of her before she turned slightly, keeping an eye on the door. “I told him he had to come and took away all his excuses. Really he had no choice.”

She could hear Shinji’s low chuckle behind her. “Clever little fox.” It was almost fond, and earned him another of her bright smiles. “When did you tell him to be here?”

“Around eight, so everyone else should be here and we can keep him from running away.”

“Who are we holding hostage?” asked Takumi as he strolled in, Tsubasa not far behind him. “Should I get the rope?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Sylvia to burst into a fit of laughter.

Behind him, the sorceress rolled her eyes, smacking the back of his head with her palm. “Save it for later, Taku. Hey Syl, Shinji,” she added, smiling and nodding at them.

Shou and Emi came in not long after, chatting away about … well, Sylvia wasn’t really sure. But they both stopped and gave their greetings before moving to a booth where they could continue their conversation away from the others, so as not to disturb everyone else. It was barely seven-thirty. Almost everyone was here except for Tatsu, and she knew he liked to be punctual.

As a result, everyone else was well into their cups by the time Tatsu arrived. “ _Oooh_ , Yukimura!” she said, almost squealing but managing (just barely) to not. She’d changed since she'd seen him earlier, and her new outfit emphasized her bosom in an exceptionally flattering way. She could tell he noticed when his gaze lingered just a second too long, his cheeks flaming as a result.

“I see you’ve all started already,” was his wry response, almost a mutter as he focused on the rest of their little group. Still, he settled in at the bar next to Sylvia, a faint flush on the back of his neck even as he tried to act cool. He took what was left of her drink without a word, freezing the glass before sliding it back to her.

She opted not to comment on the magic, and instead asked, “Would you rather we had waited for you?” She took a judicious sip of her cider, enjoying the fresh chill and glancing sidelong at him. On her other side, she could hear Shinji’s soft laugh as he stood and wandered away, probably to go chat with Hikaru. It wasn’t like she was flirting! Not yet, at least.

Tatsuya sighed, shaking his head. “No, I guess not. That wouldn’t make any sense.”

Sylvia grinned, knocking her shoulder against his. “That just means you get to catch up!” With some persuasion, she managed to get him to order a cider (“It’s like beer but it tastes more like a wine, Tatsu, just give it a try!”) and seemed inordinately pleased with herself when he grudgingly admitted it didn’t taste all that bad.

“Is this one of those things your mother brought over with her?” he asked, about halfway through the cider. There were plenty of ciders in Japan, but none of them were like this. He wondered how much trouble the proprietor of Fox’s Tail had in acquiring this Western drink.

“Oh, absolutely. Mum loves her ciders! She brings as much back as she can every time she has to leave on one of her trips.”

“Your mom isn’t Japanese?” asked Taku from further down the bar.

The kitsune stared at him for a long moment, trying to understand if he was being serious. Eventually Tsubasa noticed and sighed, hauling him away. “Don’t mind him, he gets stupid when he’s drunk.” As they moved to a table, she could hear the sorceress pointing out that Sylvia was an English name, why _wouldn’t_ one of her parents be a Westerner?

She turned back to Tatsuya only to see the ghost of a smile touching the corners of his lips. “Do you ever plan to tell them?” He nodded toward the rest of the group.

“What, my Japanese name?” At his nod, she only shrugged. “I don’t see why. I like Sylvia. It suits. Besides, _you_ found out by accident. They have just as many opportunities.”

* * *

“I’m just saying, what if humans could, with all their science, learn how to create distortion effects that act like my glamour?” She waved a hand vaguely at herself, swaying a little on her seat. “It’s within the realm of possibility. They already have planes that can’t be tracked on radar, and they’re working on those... those cloaking device things. Why _wouldn’t_ appearance-changing glamour be outside the realm of possibility?”

“Sure, but how would they power it? Keeping something like that going for an extended length of time would require enormous power stores, don’t you think?” Tatsu and Sylvia had entered a heated discussion about the applications of magical effects via science. They’d had the occasional input from the others, but largely the two were left to drunkenly debate … well, whatever topic they strayed onto next.

“Kinetic energy, maybe? Like those watches they like so much?” She tapped his with a long black nail for emphasis.

Tatsu frowned and pulled his hand away, considering. “They would need a power pack larger than what any watch carries,” he finally pointed out, his voice surprisingly clear despite how much he’d had to drink.

The kitsune frowned back, peering at him with half-lidded eyes. “I guess you’re right. But I still think they’d find a way, eventually.” She finished off her latest drink and then grinned at him. “You’re kinda cute when you’re nerding out, Tatsu.” Her voice was bright and cheerful, accompanied by a soft giggle.

His face, already warm from the alcohol, grew warmer still, and several shades darker with his blush. Even drunk he wasn’t quite sure how to respond to what was obviously flirting. Instead, he scoffed and turned away from her, trying to hide his embarrassment. “You’re drunk and have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She snickered at that, leaning over to peck his cheek. A small part of her was enjoying watching him squirm. “You think I could argue science with you, _drunk_ , and somehow _not_ know what I’m talking about? I think your logic is failing you right now, in that case.” Sylvia winked at him before standing, wavering briefly as she caught her balance, and wandering away from the bar. She accepted a shot of something - sake, maybe? - that Hikaru and Shinji were passing between them and joined in on their discussion. He could hear her laughter as she responded to whatever was being said, and see her face light up with humor.

Tatsuya watched, his expression steadily growing moody and sour, and he almost didn’t notice when Tsubasa took over Sylvia’s abandoned seat. “She likes you, you know,” she said, startling him and causing him to look over at her. His expression must have contained disbelief, because she nodded once, decisively. “She’s been waiting for you. If you’re not interested, you should just tell her.” He tried to respond, stammering, but Tsubasa merely patted his hand, grinning at him. “Or should I tell her to just ask you, instead?”

When no response was forthcoming, the sorceress let out an amused huff and hopped off her seat, moving to join the others and leaving Tatsuya to his thoughts.

Sylvia noticed when he slipped out of the bar a few minutes later and turned to look at Tsu, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. The younger girl leaned forward and, in a conspiratorial whisper, said, “He likes you, too. You should just ask him.”

The kitsune thought on that the rest of the night.

* * *

She didn’t get to see him the next day, or the one after that, as they both had work and the school break had just begun. The third day, however, saw her wandering into Veritas when she knew he was scheduled to be working. (Okay, so she _might_ have asked Shinji, but Tatsu didn’t need to know that.) Sylvia had caught up on her own work and could afford to take the day off and do… well, nothing. And since she’d spent a lot of time thinking about what Tsubasa had said, then perhaps today would be a good day.

Sylvia settled into her usual seat at Veritas, giving Shinji a grin and a wave as she sat. It didn’t take as long as she’d thought it might for Tatsuya to come and take her order. “Chai latte, right?” he asked, faintly blushing. “How do you want it today?”

The kitsune gave him a long look, deliberately sweeping her gaze down his body. “Frozen, I think, please,” she finally said, her lips quirking into a slight, sly smile that only broadened as his blush deepened.

“One frozen chai latte. I’ll get that started for you right away.” Tatsu nearly ran off to duck behind the counter. She couldn’t see his face, as his back was turned to her, but judging from the look on Shinji’s face, the poor dragon was likely to be bright red. It didn’t take him long to prepare the drink, but she did notice that the glass it arrived in was icier than usual. It was a nice touch - quite literally, in this case.

“So... what are you doing tonight?” she asked as she took the drink from him, their hands brushing together. Tatsu nearly froze in place, his eyes widening just slightly. “I need help with my statistics homework, and you’re _much_ better at it than I am.” Her features were set into an unreadable mask, the very image of nonchalance, though she was practically buzzing on the inside. She almost laughed at the expression on his face as he relaxed.

“I was going to assist mother at the restaurant…” Tatsu trailed off, and she could almost see him rearranging his schedule. It was fascinating, to be quite honest. “I’ll have some time before, I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble for her if I were late. I could meet you at five?”

“Perfect! I’ll text you the address,” was Sylvia’s cheerful response. The kitsune spotted Shinji behind the counter, shaking his head at her antics, a soft, fond smile on his face. Grinning cheekily, she returned her attention to Tatsuya. “It makes more sense for you to come to my place, I think. All my homework is there, and it’s not too far from here.”

Tatsuya’s blush came back in full force, but he finally nodded. “That’s solid reasoning,” he said, more to himself than to her. “I, uh... I have to get back to work now.”

“Okay! I’ll see you later, then!”

After he’d left to check on other customers, Shinji came by her table, a half smile quirking up his lips as he raised an eyebrow at her. “There are quicker ways to kill someone, you know, if that was your goal.”

Sylvia took a long drink of her chai, feigning innocence. “I just need help with my homework, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh.” He gave a short shake of his head, laughing softly at her. “You kids have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Her only response was to give him the same cheeky grin as before and then shoo him on his way.

* * *

She was pacing, she knew, anxiously checking every corner of her apartment to make sure it looked okay. Her office door was shut, evidence of her job safely hidden away behind it (not that she didn’t want him to know, eventually, but it was a lot of stuff and better off unseen.) The apartment was usually fairly tidy - Sylvia didn’t like a messy living space - but that didn’t stop her from fidgeting. The door to her bedroom was cracked open, but she’d made sure that all her clothes were in their proper places. No bras or panties were waiting in ambush, at least as far as she could tell.

It was also still early. She didn’t expect Tatsuya to be there until five. As punctual as he was, there was no need for her to be fidgety a whole half hour ahead.

Still, it came as a mild shock to her when a sharp knock at her door jarred her out of her thoughts and pacing. She glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was five already, and then went to open the door. Tatsuya stood there, a faint red tinting his cheeks as he tried not to fidget. “Hi, come on in,” she said, gesturing for him to step inside.

“You’re _sure_ it’s okay?” he asked, even as he toed off his shoes and slipped on the house shoes she offered him.

“Absolutely.” The kitsune led him into the main room, offering him a seat on the couch. When he’d settled in, she brought out iced coffee for him and an iced chai for herself, grinning as he stuttered his thanks. “Okay, so I’m really stuck on this chapter,” she started, picking up the textbook and showing the offensive item to him. She was all right at math, but _much_ preferred it when it was tied in with some kind of science. The fact that she’d needed a statistics class had annoyed her to no end.

Tatsuya dutifully took the book from her, their fingers brushing against each other for the second time that day. Her fingers tingled from the contact even as he looked over the book, his lips pursed and brows knitted together in thought. Sylvia resisted the urge to reach out and smooth the furrows in his brow, but only just.

“I see why you’re having such a difficult time,” he finally said, shaking his head. “The explanation the book is giving is atrocious, and if your instructor is teaching you from the book, then of course it wouldn’t make sense. Here, I’ll walk you through it.” He took the offered pencil and paper and began diagramming a better method, pointing out key notes as he went.

Sylvia only half-listened. She’d remember it all later, but he was just so distracting that she couldn’t resist staring. Every so often she would glance up and trace the line of his jaw with her gaze, watch his lips as they formed words, see the spark in his eyes and the flush in his cheeks every time their eyes met.

She _really_ wanted to kiss him.

Instead, when they took a break after she’d successfully completed a problem set, she turned slightly on the couch so that she was partly facing him. “Tatsuya.”

“Hm? Is something wrong? Oh, it’s late, you probably need me to go.” He began to organize the table before them, straightening papers and the like. His movements were quick and precise. It suited his personality.

The kitsune gave a long-suffering sigh, her lips quirked in a wry smile. “No, you don’t have to go. In fact… I’d really like if you stayed.” She hesitated a moment, considering. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, the only sign of how nervous she was. “For dinner, actually.”

If she’d ever thought she had seen him turn red before, she would now have to say she had been so very, very wrong. The blush he was sporting was warm enough she could almost feel it, and it seemed to have taken over his entire face and a good portion of his neck. He was spluttering, and she was glad she’d waited until after he’d set his drink down, otherwise he might currently be choking. “For dinner?” he finally got out, his voice strangled. “As in… a d-date?”

“Well, I was hoping so, but if you don’t want to, th-”

“NO! I mean… yes. Yes, I would like to have dinner with you.” Tatsuya rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away from her. Sylvia was absolutely certain now that she had never seen him this embarrassed.

She was looking forward to topping that.


End file.
